A woman and three children were injured in a crash in Overland Park on the morning of Thursday, October 24.
The crash happened around 7:30 am near the intersection of West 87th and Grant streets. The woman and children were walking to Pawnee Elementary School when the driver of one vehicle ran a red light and hit the driver of another vehicle, which ran off the street and struck the four pedestrians.
Authorities say the victims were rushed to area hospitals. The woman and two children were listed in stable condition, while the third child was listed in critical condition. The driver was issued a citation.
“We are monitoring the situation and we hope that all four victims, including the child in critical condition, will be alright,” said BikeWalkKC executive director Eric Rogers. “A citation simply doesn’t seem sufficient, given what we know about the severity of the crash.”
“It’s incredibly sad that these people can’t do something as simple as walking to school without sustaining bodily harm from a reckless driver,” said Michael Kelley, BikeWalkKC policy manager. “The driver needs to be held accountable, but we should also be looking for ways to improve the streetscape and prevent crashes like these from happening in the first place.”
As BikeWalkKC has stated in the past, what deserves the brunt of the blame for these crashes is the culture that values car traffic efficiency over the safety of human lives.
For more information, contact Karen Campbell, director of development and communications at (816) 205-7056 (ext. 2) or by email at karen.campbell@bikewalkkc.org.
BikeWalkKC believes that crashes are not accidents.